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PubMed1990

The differentiation-inducing agent sodium butyrate produces divergent effects on albumin and thyroxine-binding globulin synthesis by human hepatoblastoma-derived (Hep G2) cells.

The addition of sodium butyrate, a differentiation-inducing agent, to the culture medium of human hepatoblastoma-derived (Hep G2) cells, produced a dose-dependent and time-dependent increase in albumin (ALB) and decrease in T4-binding globulin (TBG) synthesis and secretion. In the presence of 0.01 to 2.0 mM sodium butyrate, newly synthesized [35S]ALB progressively increased up to 139% of control cultures grown in the absence of sodium butyrate, whereas TBG synthesis was already slightly inhibited using the lowest concentrations of this agent and further diminished thereafter. The use of 5 mM and 10 mM sodium butyrate inhibited the synthesis of both proteins, probably as a consequence of toxic effects on cell cultures. The addition of 1 mM sodium butyrate for variable time intervals caused an increase in the amount of ALB recovered in the medium up to 146% after 72 h, and a decrease of TBG up to 44% of controls. These different effects on ALB and TBG occurred concomitantly with an inhibition of cell growth, as shown by the reduction in the cell number/flask compared to control cultures. At the highest sodium butyrate concentrations, a relevant impairment in the secretion of newly synthesized TBG, but not of ALB, also occurred. These divergent effects on ALB and TBG synthesis by Hep G2 cells might be related to biochemical differentiation induced by sodium butyrate in this tumoral cell system, suggesting that TBG synthesis is increased in Hep G2 cells because of their neoplastic nature.

Albumins↗
PubMed2006

Profiling proteinuria in pediatric patients.

This study was designed to characterize proteinuria in children with kidney disease. Random urine samples from 250 pediatric patients were examined by quantitative measures of total protein (pr), albumin (Alb), and creatinine (cr). Patient diagnoses were subjectively categorized as "Glomerular" (GD) or "Tubulo-interstitial" disease (TD) in origin. Proteinuria was quantitated by the random urine protein-to-creatinine (Upr/cr) ratio, and glomerular proteinuria was assessed as the albumin-to-creatinine ratio (Ualb/cr) and percentage albuminuria (%Alb=Alb/pr*100). The non-albumin fraction (1-Alb/pr) includes low-molecular-weight proteins and micro- and macroglobulins. Of the 250 patients, 112 (45%) had GD and 138 (55%) had TD. Both proteinuria and albuminuria correlated with a decline in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (r=-0.4; p<0.0001). Those with GD averaged significantly greater %Alb than those with TD at all levels of proteinuria (p<0.0001). With loss in GFR, %Alb increased significantly in patients with TD (18+/-13 to 47+/-30%; p<0.001) and GD (56+/-26 to 74+/-15%; p<0.01), respectively. The %Alb at all levels of GFR averaged <50% in those with TD and >50% in those with GD. In conclusion, random Ualb/cr, Upr/cr, and %Alb provide a simple and inexpensive assessment of proteinuria and may profile renal disease activity and response to therapy in pediatric patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

High-performance affinity chromatography system for the rapid, efficient assay of glycated albumin.

A high-performance affinity chromatographic system was constructed and shown to permit highly reproducible, rapid, automatic assays of serum glycated albumin (GA) by separation of albumin (Alb) on an anion-exchange column (Asahipak ES-502N) packed with a vinyl alcohol copolymer bearing diethylamino groups and consecutive separation of GA on a column packed with a vinyl alcohol copolymer bearing boronate groups. The first column selectively retained Alb free of other serum proteins and permitted at least a 95% recovery of sample Alb. The purity of the Alb peak was confirmed by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Chromatographic analyses of human serum Alb incubated with glucose on the second column showed that the peak area for GA increased in accordance with the incubation time and suggested selective adsorption of GA on the second column. Optimization of the conditions for the two-column system reduced the analysis time to 10 min. Analyses of human sera with the present system showed GA to be 16.1 +/- 1.1% (mean +/- S.D.) of total Alb in non-diabetic children and 39.9 +/- 9.1% (mean +/- S.D.) in diabetic children (0-17 years old).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Serum visceral protein levels reflect protein-calorie repletion in neonates recovering from major surgery.

Protein catabolism resulting from acute metabolic stress causes significant postoperative decreases in visceral proteins, including albumin (Alb) and prealbumin (PA). Although clinical trials have suggested an advantage of PA over Alb in monitoring the visceral protein response to nutritional supplementation following surgery, the capability of the neonate to generate such a response has yet to be evaluated. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine if PA is superior to Alb in assessing postoperative repletion of the visceral protein pool in neonates. Serum Alb and PA levels were measured and energy balance (EB) and protein intake (PI) were recorded in 10 neonates less than 48 hours after major surgery and again following 4 consecutive days of positive EB. Resting energy expenditure (REE) was measured using indirect calorimetric methodology. Mean PI (g/kg/d) was lower (0.78 +/- 0.78) and mean EB (kcal/kg/d) was negative (-2.92 +/- 10.05) less than 48 hours postoperatively compared with mean PI (2.52 +/- 0.57; P = .0006) after 4 consecutive days of positive EB (34.84 +/- 16.5; P = .0004). Mean percent change (mean% delta) from negative EB to positive EB was significantly greater for PA (100%; P = .0002) as compared with Alb (18.5%). These data appear to support the conclusion that serial serum PA levels are superior to Alb to monitor the visceral protein response to nutritional supplementation in neonates following surgery.

Energy Intake↗
PubMed1992

ortho-toluidine blood protein adducts: HPLC analysis with fluorescence detection after a single dose in the adult male rat.

Hemoglobin (Hb) and albumin (Alb) adducts of the suspect human carcinogen ortho-toluidine (OT) were quantified in blood samples collected from rats after a single i.p. injection. Mild alkaline hydrolysis of Hb adducted with [14C]OT followed by extraction with ethyl acetate resulted in recovery of 63% of the bound radioactivity. HPLC analysis revealed a single radiolabeled peak which was identified as OT by GC-MS. In subsequent experiments Hb and Alb adduct levels were determined by HPLC analysis of this cleavage product using fluorescence detection. 4-Ethylaniline was used as internal standard. The detection limit for OT was approximately 450 pg/injection or 5 pmol/mg Hb. Mean adduct levels for Hb increased rapidly over the first 4 hr with the highest (ng/mg Hb +/- SD) 3.7 +/- 0.5 detected 24 hr after OT administration at 50 mg/kg body wt. In contrast, adduct levels for pooled Alb samples increased from 0.7 ng/mg Alb at 2 hr to 2.5 ng/mg Alb at 4 hr, but were not detectable 24 hr after dosing. Hb adducts showed a linear relationship for OT doses of 10, 20, 40, 50, and 100 mg/kg body wt. The Hb adduct t1/2 (11 days) was determined after a single 100 mg/kg OT dose. Hb adduct levels were quantifiable (1.3 +/- 0.2 ng/mg Hb) by HPLC/fluorescence 28 days after 100 mg/kg OT. Although Hb and Alb adducts differ in stability, a ratio of such OT adducts may be useful in long-term industrial biomonitoring for evaluation of OT exposure.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Irreversibly glycated albumin alters the physico-chemical characteristics of low density lipoproteins of normal and diabetic subjects.

In diabetic plasma, glycated albumin and glycated LDL coexist with augmented levels of peroxides, conditions frequently associated with the development of accelerated atherosclerosis. The direct interaction between irreversibly glycated albumin, LDL and oxidation have not been explored yet. We tried to elucidate whether irreversibly glycated albumin (AGE-Alb) induces changes in the chemistry and morphology of LDL particle, and if AGE-Alb has the ability to scavenge free radicals, as reported for native albumin. LDL isolated from normal (nLDL) or diabetic human subjects (dLDL) was incubated in vitro with AGE-Alb in conditions of autoxidation (37 degrees C, 24-48 h in the absence of oxidation inhibitors) or of Cu2+ induced-oxidation. The results showed that, especially in the latter condition, AGE-Alb induced marked physico-chemical modifications of both nLDL and dLDL without significant changes in the level of peroxides. Incubation with AGE-Alb decreased the cholesteryl esters/unesterified cholesterol ratio of nLDL by 30% and of dLDL by approximately 50%. Concomitantly, in oxidative conditions a marked increase (approximately 3-fold) in the lysophosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylcholine ratio of dLDL was detected. Apolipoprotein B integrity as well as the morphology of the lipoprotein particles were drastically affected. To a lesser extent, these modifications occurred also in the presence of inhibitors of oxidation at 37 degrees C, but not at 4 degrees C. The above described effects were constantly more pronounced in the case of dLDL. These results indicated that in the absence of other plasma or vascular tissue components (e.g., endothelial cells, extracellular matrix) AGE-Alb by itself induces alterations in the chemistry and morphology of LDL, especially of glycated LDL, modifications that may account for the occurrence of accelerated atherogenesis in diabetes.

Arteriosclerosis↗
PubMed2005

[Body mass index and albuminemia in patients under mechanical circulatory assistance before cardiac transplantation].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prognostic influence of peri-implantation nutritional status of patients under mechanical circulatory assist (MCA) prior to cardiac transplantation (CT). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of patients with cardiogenic shock included from June 1997 to December 2002. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Evaluation at MCA's implantation, at day (D) 30 and at CT or patient's death (D) of body mass index (BMI=body weight (kg)/size (m(2)), albuminemia (Alb g/l), expressed as median values (med) and range (min-max). Odds ratio (OR) and CI 95%) were calculated. A multivariate analysis was performed to determine variables related to D or CT success. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients (30 men), median age 40.5 years (10-63), were included. MCA types were cardiac pumps (N=3); pneumatic (N=18) or electric (N=5) ventricular assist devices and artificial heart (N=8). Global mortality was 56% (19 over 34 patients) and at implantation in the global population (N=34) BMI was 19.4 (9.3-28.1) and Alb 24.6 g/l (15-37.5). At MCA's implantation and D30 respectively, 38 and 42% of the patients had a severe hypoAlb (Alb<30 g/l) and a BMI<19 attesting of a seriously deteriorated nutritional status. No significant statistical difference was observed on median BMI of transplanted patients T (N=15) and expired patients D (N=19). Alb was significantly different (p<10(-4)) between T and D patients: median Alb: 30 g/l (20-37.5) in T patients, 20 g/l (15-31) in D patients. HypoAlb<21 g/l was an independent prognostic factor of death (p=0.004; OR: 0.541; IC95% : 0.36-0.82) and Alb>33 g/l an independent prognostic factor of CT success (p=0.003; OR:1.38; IC95% : 1.12-1.71). CONCLUSION: These results seem to demonstrate that at MCA implantation, a seriously deteriorated albuminemia level (<30 g/l) negatively impacts patients overall survival after CT.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Distortion of iron status indices by acute inflammation in older hospitalized patients.

The relation between acute inflammation and biochemical indices of iron and nutritional status in older in-patients have been investigated. Thirty-nine consecutive patients (25 men and 14 women; median age 79 years) with acute inflammation episode were evaluated. C-reactive protein (CRP) > or = 3 mg/dl was considered to indicate acute inflammation. Iron and nutritional status were explored measuring hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Ht), red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), mean erythrocyte volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and serum levels of iron (Fe), transferrin (T), percentage transferrin saturation (%TS), ferritin (SF), albumin (Alb) and pre-albumin (pre-Alb), the day after admission (T-basal), the day of onset of inflammation (T0), and successively (T5, T8-15, and T-final). CRP and WBC were significantly higher at T0 than T-basal (CRP: +1014%, P < 0.01; WBC: +30%, P < 0.01) but had reduced on days T8-15 compared to T0 (CRP: -90%, P < 0.01; WBC: -26%, P < 0.01). Fe serum levels fell at the beginning of the acute phase (T0: -24% versus T-basal; P < 0.01), but had recovered at T-final (+36% versus T5; P < 0.01). T levels also varied significantly (P < 0.01) (T0: -16% versus T-basal; T-final: +18% versus T5). SF was slightly higher than normal at T-basal and increased further during inflammation (+41% at T5 versus T-basal) to reduce at T-final (-36% versus T5; P < 0.01). At T-final, pre-Alb and Alb were significantly higher than at T5 (pre-Alb +63%, P < 0.01; Alb +20%, P < 0.05). The indices of iron status are disrupted in elderly patients during acute inflammation, just as they are in chronic inflammation, and cannot therefore be used to diagnose sideropenic anemia. The only variables not influenced by inflammation are MCV and %TS. Low values of these, associated with other symptoms of anemia, suggest sideropenic anemia, irrespective of the values of the other indices of iron status. With the appearance of inflammation, nutritional indices tend to decline as liver activity shifts to the production of acute phase proteins.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2006

A phase 2 study to evaluate the antiviral activity, safety, and pharmacokinetics of recombinant human albumin-interferon alfa fusion protein in genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Recombinant human albumin-interferon alfa (alb-IFN) is a novel 85.7-kD recombinant protein consisting of interferon alfa-2b genetically fused to human serum albumin. METHODS: A phase 2, open-label, dose-ranging study was conducted in IFN-alfa-naïve patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C to evaluate the antiviral activity, safety, and pharmacokinetics of alb-IFN. Fifty-six patients were enrolled to receive two subcutaneous injections of alb-IFN 14 days apart in five dose cohorts of 200, 450, 670, 900, and 1,200 microg. RESULTS: A 2 log(10) IU/mL or greater reduction in hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA at Week 4 was observed in 69% (18/26) of patients who received the higher alb-IFN doses of 900 and 1,200 microg. The mean HCV RNA reduction at Week 4 in these two higher-dose cohorts was 3.2 log(10) IU/mL. Modeling of viral kinetics demonstrated a biphasic response that was dose dependent. Adverse events were mostly mild to moderate in severity. The most common adverse events were headache (73%), chills (63%), fatigue (61%), and arthralgia (55%). The median terminal half-life was 141 h consistent with previous alb-IFN data from IFN-alfa-experienced patients. CONCLUSIONS: Alb-IFN demonstrated significant antiviral activity and was well tolerated in patients with HCV genotype 1 infection.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Increased resting metabolic rate in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus accompanied by advanced diabetic nephropathy.

Thirty-three patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (16 men, 17 women) were divided into 3 groups based on urinary excretion of albumin (U-Alb)--group A: U-Alb < 30 mg/d; group B: 30 mg/d < or = U-Alb < or = 300 mg/d; and group C: 300 mg/d < U-Alb. Serum creatinine levels were lower than 2.0 mg/dL in all the subjects. There was no difference in age, sex, therapy, body weight, body mass index (BMI), lean body mass (LBM), or hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)) levels among the 3 groups. Resting metabolic rate (RMR) (kJ/h/m(2)) and adjusted RMR for lean body mass (kJ/h/m(2)) were significantly increased in group C compared with groups A and B. Hb concentrations, serum albumin levels, and creatinine clearance were much lower in group C than in groups A and B (P < .001). There were no difference in serum urea nitrogen, total cholesterol, cholinesterase and free thyroxine, or plasma insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) levels among the 3 groups. Linear regression analysis revealed an inverse correlation between RMR and serum albumin levels, correlation between RMR and U-Alb, and inverse correlation between RMR and Hb concentrations, respectively, in these patients. In conclusion, RMR in diabetic patients correlated directly with U-Alb and inversely with serum albumin and Hb concentration. These findings suggest that RMR is related with urinary albumin loss and anemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus accompanied by diabetic nephropathy.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Biochemical characterization of procoagulant albumin.

Procoagulant albumin (Pro-Alb) is an anionic form of albumin isolated from normal human plasma that regulates vascular endothelial cell hemostatic properties, including induction of tissue factor activity. We investigated the biochemical modification of Pro-Alb that was associated with procoagulant-inducing activity. Tryptic digestion of Pro-Alb identified greatest bioactivity in the carboxy-terminus of the molecule, a region associated with lipid binding sites. Activated charcoal treatment and phopholipase C digestion reduced the procoagulant-inducing activity of Pro-Alb, and Pro-Alb contained 2.3-fold more phosphorus than inactive albumin. We conclude that modification of albumin by phospholipid imparts tissue factor-inducing activity to Pro-Alb.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Heparinization of gas plasma-modified polystyrene surfaces and the interactions of these surfaces with proteins studied with surface plasmon resonance.

Polystyrene surfaces obtained by spin-coating a solution of polystyrene in toluene on a gold layer were functionalized with carboxylic acid groups by preadsorption of the sodium salt of undecylenic acid, followed by an argon plasma treatment. A conjugate of albumin and heparin (alb-hep) was covalently immobilized onto the functionalized surface via preactivation of carboxylic acid groups with a water-soluble carbodiimide. The immobilization of alb-hep conjugate and the subsequent interactions of the heparinized surface with antithrombin III (ATIII, a heparin cofactor) and thrombin were monitored with surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The surface concentration of conjugate as determined with SPR deviated quantitatively from the results obtained with radiolabelled conjugate. The difference in surface concentrations of conjugate obtained with the two methods probably originates from the uncertainty of the refractive index of the alb-hep conjugate in the SPR technique. ATIII could be bound to the surface modified with alb-hep conjugate but not to a polystyrene surface modified with albumin. Rabbit anti-human ATIII did bind to the alb-hep surface previously exposed to ATIII, confirming the presence of surface bound ATIII. The alb-hep immobilized surface was able to bind much more thrombin than ATIII, which is probably due to the less specific heparin-thrombin interaction as compared to the heparin-ATIII interaction. This study shows that SPR is a technique that can be used to study, in real time, both the modification of polymer surfaces and the subsequent interactions of the modified surfaces with proteins.

Albumins↗
PubMed1996

Modeling mortality risk in hemodialysis patients using laboratory values as time-dependent covariates.

Proportional hazards analyses assume that the magnitude of mortality risk for a predictor variable remains proportional over time. In a time-dependent model, the explanatory variable violates this assumption, and repeat observations are required to accommodate the change in risk that occurs over time. Using a retrospective cohort design, we tested the following laboratory values for a time-by-covariate interaction: hematocrit (HCT), serum albumin (ALB), and serum creatinine (CR). A random sample of 4,083 hemodialysis patients whose specimens were analyzed in a central laboratory over a 3-year period served as the study group. Using the baseline observation, we discovered significant probability values for the interaction terms TIME*CR (P = 0.013) and TIME*ALB (P < 0.01). The beta coefficient for TIME*HCT was not significant, indicating that the proportional hazard assumption was not violated by this covariate. Based on these results, we fitted a multivariate regression model containing two time-dependent covariates (CR and ALB) using a data structure that incorporated repeat observations of these laboratory values. Patients with high ALB levels experienced the lowest mortality risk. Similarly, serum CR levels were higher in long-term survivors. This analysis verifies the clinical importance of monitoring ALB and CR levels over time and the hazard of using a single laboratory observation to make long-term projections. Additionally, the predictive values of the time-dependent covariates ALB and CR affirm the significance of nutritional approaches directed toward maintaining visceral and somatic protein content throughout renal replacement therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

The effects of heme-binding proteins on the peroxidative and catalatic activities of hemin.

The plasma proteins hemopexin (Hx) and albumin (Alb) are known to bind heme with high and medium affinity, respectively. To study how this binding modifies heme catalytic reactivity, the effects of Hx, human serum Alb (HSA), and bovine serum Alb (BSA) on the peroxidase- and catalaselike activities of hemin were investigated. These hemin activities were found to be inhibited by 50 to 60% with either HSA or BSA, and by 80 to 90% with Hx. The heme complexes with Hx or Alb (1:1 = protein:heme) therefore had a much lower reactivity toward H2O2 and Cum-OOH than the nonprotein heme. A kinetic analysis suggested that binding to Hx or Alb inhibited the primary activation of heme by H2O2, the step common for both peroxidase- and catalaselike activities of hemin. It is thought that by complexing heme, the Hx and Alb can prevent the toxic effects of extracellular heme in blood plasma.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Type IV collagen as an early marker for diabetic nephropathy in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

We measured urinary albumin (U-Alb) and type IV collagen (uIV.C) in spot urine collected from 82 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and 205 controls. Eighty-two NIDDM patients that had no increased excretion of either U-Alb or uIV.C were observed for 6 months. Prevalence of increased excretion of U-Alb and uIV.C at 6 months in these patients were 32.9%, and 62.2%, respectively. Increased excretion of uIV.C was detected in 27 patients without microalbuminuria. chi(2) analysis suggested that uIV.C was more sensitive than U-Alb, and that hypertension enhanced increased excretion of both U-Alb and uIV.C. uIV.C was significantly correlated (P<0.01) with U-Alb but not glycosylated hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) in NIDDM patients. Taken together, uIV.C may be a useful marker for early diabetic nephropathy.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Measurement of hemoglobin and albumin adducts of tetrachlorobenzoquinone.

Tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone (Cl4BQ), a metabolite of pentachlorophenol (PCP), is believed to play a role in the genotoxicity of PCP. We have developed a method to measure the adducts of Cl4BQ with cysteine residues of hemoglobin (Hb) and albumin (Alb). This method employs the use of Raney nickel to selectively cleave the sulfur-bound adducts. Adducts of Hb and Alb with Cl4BQ were measured following modification of rat blood with Cl4BQ (0-90 microM) in vitro. The formation of both Hb and Alb adducts was linear over the entire range with second-order rate constants of 6.89 and 167 L mol-1 h-1, respectively. The proportions of the concentrations of these Hb and Alb adducts to those of all covalently-bound products were estimated to be 0.053 and 0.178, respectively, at initial Cl4BQ concentrations between 3 and 90 microM. The overall rate of reaction of Cl4BQ in rat blood (in vitro) was pseudo-first-order with an estimated half-time of 4.35 h. Hb and Alb adducts of Cl4BQ were also measured in vivo following oral administration of PCP to rats (0-20 mg/kg body wt). Linear production of Hb and Alb adducts was observed over the entire range of dosages, with slopes of 0.09 and 8.22 pmol of adduct (g of protein)-1 [(mg of PCP)/(kg body wt)]-1, respectively. On the basis of production of Hb adducts in vitro and in vivo, it is estimated that 2.7 x 10(-7) mol of Cl4BQ was released to the blood of rats per mole of PCP administered.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Albumins↗
PubMed2004

Polymorphisms in blood proteins of Bos indicus and Bos taurus cattle breeds of Cameroon and Nigeria, and description of new albumin variants.

Polymorphisms in the five blood protein loci albumin (ALB), carbonic anhydrase (CA II), vitamin D binding protein (GC), haemoglobin (HBB), and transferrin (TF) were investigated in 520 individuals from 12 cattle populations (Bos indicus and Bos taurus) in Cameroon and Nigeria by isoelectric focusing with carrier ampholytes in ultrathin polyacrylamide gels (PAG-IEF) and by linear gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). While all loci in nine populations were polymorphic with up to six alleles at the ALB and TF loci: the Namchi population showed monomorphism at the CA II locus and Muturu at the ALB, CA II, and HBB loci. There was a clear distinction between Bos indicus and Bos taurus breeds at the ALB locus with ALBB predominating in indicine and ALBA predominating in taurtine breeds. CA IIS, GCA, and HBBA were the most commonly occurring alleles in all populations. Two variants not described before were demonstrated by PAG-IEF at the ALB locus and named ALBJ and ALBK. Mean effective number of alleles as measure of intrabreed diversity was higher in zebu populations (2.040-2.288) as compared to taurine breeds (1.349-1.836). Significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium occurred in some populations at the HBB and TF loci. More haplotypes of ALB/GC occurred in the zebu than taurine breeds. ALBAGCA predominated in the taurine populations and ALBBGCA in the indicine populations. Influence of zebu genes on the Namchi and N'Dama taurine breeds was detected at the ALB, CA II, HBB, and TF loci, and estimated at 61.5% and 5.7%, respectively. The high resolution of PAG-IEF in screening for polymorphisms within diversity studies was demonstrated.

Albumins↗
PubMed1997

Semiquantification of circulating hepatocellular carcinoma cells by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and rapidly fatal malignancies worldwide. Treatment options are severely limited by the frequent presence of metastases. If hepatocyte-specific mRNAs are detected in the circulation, it is possible to infer the presence of circulating, presumably malignant, liver cells. If these can be quantified, it is possible to predict the likelihood of haematogenous metastasis. In this investigation, we have attempted to gain an index of the mass of circulating HCC cells (with reference to the number of hepatoblastoma cells) by measuring the amounts of PCR products for albumin (alb) mRNA and alpha-fetoprotein (afp) mRNA by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Southern blot analysis. For calibration, total RNA from 1-10(6) HepG2 cells was mixed with total RNA from 10(6) normal peripheral mononuclear cells. A linear relationship was demonstrated between the amount of alb- or afp PCR product and the level of HepG2 total RNA spiked. The assay is sensitive down to a detection level of one HepG2 cell. Alb mRNA was detected in 50% of 18 normal subjects and afp mRNA in only two normal subjects. The alb mRNA cut-off level for the normal was exceeded by seven normal subjects and 34 out of 64 HCC patients, and that for afp mRNA was exceeded by six HCC patients but none of the normal subjects. The level of alb mRNA detected was not linearly proportional to the amount of afp mRNA detected in peripheral blood of the same patients, suggesting heterogeneous expression of alb and afp genes in different circulating tumour cells. In addition, no significant linear association between the levels of afp mRNA and serum AFP was observed. Semiquantification of both mRNA markers for HCC cell detection may prove useful in prediction of metastases.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗